Tourism and Sustainable Community Development

Tourism and Sustainable Community Development

Synopsis

As the tourist industry becomes increasingly important to communities around the world, the need to develop tourism in a sustainable manner has also become a primary concern.This impressive collection of international case studies addresses this crucial issue by asking what local communities can contribute to sustainable tourism, and what sustainability can offer these local communities in return. The role of the community in environmental, cultural and economic sustainability is highlighted in an extraordinary variety of contexts, ranging from inner-city Edinburgh to rural northern Portugal and the beaches of Indonesia.Individually, the investigations in this text present a wealth of original research and source material; whilst collectively, they illuminate and clarify the term 'community' - the meaning of which, it is argued, is vital to understanding how sustainable tourism development can be implemented in practice.

Excerpt

Tourism and Community Development was the theme of a Conference held by the European Association for Tourism and Leisure Education (ATLAS) in Viana do Castelo, Portugal in September 1997. Over 60 papers were presented at the conference on a wide range of subjects connected with tourism and the community. The papers selected for this volume are representative of the range of issues that were dealt with in the conference, and also reflect the breadth of debate on the relationship between tourism and community.

The conference would not have been possible without the support provided by DGXVI of the European Commission. It formed part of the EUROTEX Project, which aims to develop crafts tourism as a source of community development. The locations included in the EUROTEX project were integrated into the conference, and examples of local crafts and crafts tourism development were on display for its duration. Many of the papers presented therefore related to the problems of community development in rural regions such as the Alto Minho.

Our gratitude is due to the School of Management and Tourism at the Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo, which hosted the conference. Particular thanks are extended to Carlos Fernandes, who formed the bridge between the global conference audience and the local community. The conference delegates were treated to a great deal of interaction with the local community in the Alto Minho Region, with conference sessions being held in cultural centres in Arcos de Valvadez, Soajo and Monçao.

This book could not have been produced without the help of a large number of people. In particular we would like to thank Leontine Onderwater, the ATLAS Project Manager for her help in collating the texts. We also extend our gratitude to the authors for their contributions, their positive responses to our suggestions and their ability to keep to deadlines (mostly!).

The final editing of the text also owes much to the ATLAS Winter University, an intensive course for an international group of students and staff in Kazimierz, Poland in January 1999. The medieval tranquillity of Kazimierz in winter provided the ideal environment to put the finishing touches to the . . .